New York, NY, May 1, 2018 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today condemned the anti-Semitic assertions of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas made in a speech to the Palestinian National Council. In his remarks, President Abbas denied the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel and blamed Jews themselves for the Holocaust through “social behavior, [charging] interest, and financial matters.”

Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO, issued the following statement:

Laden with ahistorical and pseudo-academic assertions, the Palestinian President’s latest diatribe reflects once again the depth and persistency of the anti-Semitic attitudes he harbors.

With public speeches like these, it is not surprising that under Abbas’ leadership, the Palestinian Authority has failed to renounce and combat Palestinian anti-Semitic incitement, including narratives that Jews are to blame for the Holocaust and other anti-Semitic persecution, and which deny or diminish the millennial Jewish presence in and connection to the Land of Israel.

ADL’s past polling on anti-Semitic attitudes in the West Bank and Gaza has found that about 93 percent of the population in the West Bank and Gaza harbors deep seated anti-Semitic attitudes, the highest level measured in any society in the world.

ADL had previously condemned Abbas’ anti-Israel and anti-Semitic statements in a January speech before the Palestinian Liberation Organization's Central Council.

ADL is the world’s leading anti-hate organization. Founded in 1913 in response to an escalating climate of anti-Semitism and bigotry, its timeless mission is to protect the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment for all. Today, ADL continues to fight all forms of hate with the same vigor and passion. A global leader in exposing extremism, delivering anti-bias education, and fighting hate online, ADL is the first call when acts of anti-Semitism occur. ADL’s ultimate goal is a world in which no group or individual suffers from bias, discrimination or hate.